Your Voice… Your Choice

“You know that thing where you open your mouth and no sound comes out…?”

Yeah, we know that thing. We’ve all had it happen at one point or another when we should probably say something… and maybe we even try… alas, there is only silence. Sometimes this means what was intended to come out might not have been the best thing for the particular circumstance. Sometimes this means that there was no need to say anything at all.

It’s easy to lend our voices to all manner of things. Multiple digital platforms have given us the ability to wedge our personal beliefs and causes into every crevice of the human consciousness. But true to the double-edged nature of public expression, it can also get us into entanglements that might have been prevented… had we looked before we leapt. Like anything else in this physical and energetic existence, the secret lies in the balance.

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?

These rudimentary questions are often the basic tenets of giving feedback, so that as we respond and react to one another… we might also lift and further each other’s journeys. Our voices are one of the many ways we express our personal power. Misuse of that power can go beyond simply ruining another person’s day. We do measurable damage to others, and sometimes to ourselves when we use our voices and our power to reduce and diminish.

Let your words be important enough to interrupt the silence

The last question of whether words are necessary is a fantastic way to gauge the potential impact of your voice. Its in the pause at the top of each inhale, at the bottom of each exhale that we find the moment. It takes just that moment to gauge your contribution to your world with the power of your voice. The less we speak to react, the more we speak to empower, to lift, and to hold space for not just each other… but for ourselves.